Formula 1 could be without its most successful driver next season, according to former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
Rumours have been circulating that Lewis Hamilton could call it quits on his motorsport career following his defeat to Max Verstappen at the season finale in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.
It comes after Mercedes accused the FIA of stealing the victory from Hamilton when only select cars were permitted to un-lap themselves during a Safety Car period. The Safety Car then pitted with just one lap of the race remaining, giving Verstappen the opportunity to pass leader Hamilton to take the win and the title.
Mercedes protested the result and were set to take the matter to court, but chose not to proceed at the last minute, instead opting to call on the FIA to investigate the matter internally.
Hamilton has kept a low profile since the race, skipping media duties and the FIA prize giving gala and although he has a contract for 2022, team boss Toto Wolff cast doubt on whether the Briton would see that through.
“I would very much hope that Lewis continues racing because he’s the greatest driver of all time,” said Wolff.
“I think as a racer his heart will say ‘I need to continue’ because he’s at the peak of his game, but we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him on Sunday.”
Ecclestone firmly believes Hamilton will call it a day to focus on his other passions, such as his fashion career.
“A few days ago [I spoke] with his father,” Ecclestone told Blick.ch. “I immediately felt that he wouldn’t answer a question about his son’s future.
“I don’t think he’s coming back. His disappointment is too big. And you can somehow understand it. He has seven titles like Michael Schumacher, so maybe now it would be a good time to tackle his dream of becoming a fashion entrepreneur?”
Ecclestone is also of the opinion that Hamilton risks tarnishing his reputation next year, given the complete overhaul of the technical regulations which could see another team becoming dominant, and the arrival of George Russell at Mercedes.
“Lewis could only lose in 2022,” added the 91-year-old. “Who knows how the new cars will shake up the field and with George Russell he has an ambitious new team-mate, of whom I am not yet convinced by.
“Then don’t forget about Verstappen. With him, Hamilton has finally found an equal opponent after many years.”
Wondeful… No more BLM BS…
Hahaha
Don’t be so sure about that – Liberty Media is American and they will always markt their product as best they can and if they perceive that BLM is important to their market (NB, “perceive”) then F1 will pay homage to BLM rather than “ALL LIVES MATTER”
For any faults the BLM movement may have, it’s not BS. Think about how outright, explicitly racist that statement is in its current form. Is that how you see yourself? If not, it may be worth a look.
Bullshit is precisely what Black Lives Matter is. How many protests have they held about the murder of Keona Holley these past days? How many protests have they held over the murder of David Dorn over the past eighteen months or so? They only protest about the deaths of criminals, and only when they are killed by police or white people. They have nothing to say about black people being murdered by black criminals, because they have an agenda to support black criminals, as part of their desire to completely disrupt and destroy western capitalist democracies. If you think Black Lives Matter have any good intentions towards the vast majority of black people who are honest, law-abiding citizens, then you are very much deluded. Those black people have as much to be concerned about from the menace of Black Lives Matter to our society as any white person.
Stupid dumb RACIST…plain and simple!
May I suggest a new movement – The BCDM… Bernie’s Comments Don’t Matter.
Yawn…
GO AWAY BERNIE, FAR FAR AWAY, YOU SILLY OLD MAN